Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Team Eviolite - Book 3: Legend of Oracion!
by Evening Meadow Grace
Summary: You call them heroes. How can you when they haven't changed a thing? You say they'll end the struggle. The almighty, ever present, suffocating leech that is hatred. We see it every day. Why do you choose to stay blind? You create legends to keep nightmares from invading the dreams of children, yet all I see are lies. You call them heroes. All I see is filth. -S
1. Chapter 1: Sylvan

**Chapter 1: Sylvan**

"When time has nowhere to flow but forward, a new generation prospers. Bring new mysteries and settle old disputes. Let bygones be bygones."

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 ** _Edit: Hey guys! Just in case you've read this chapter before and you're confused by the sudden change of its content, I recently made a revision to the end of book 2 that fixes quite a few pacing issues that I felt were too big to ignore. The flashback that was formerly here has been moved to the chapter called "Control" and this chapter now serves as an intro to book 3. Sorry for any confusion this may have caused, but I was really struggling with damage control on this one. See ya next chapter!_**

 ** _\- EMG_**

* * *

 **3 Years Later:**

Bright pink eyes stared into mine, vibrant and alit with childlike joy. Occupying the rest of my vision were twists of green and yellow. Not to mention the occasional patch of adorable brown. What the heck am I talking about? The adorable face of my son of course!

The snivee in question and I were currently locked in a stubborn bout of staring. Two years old and I couldn't beat him once in a staring competition. If anything, he got my competitive spirit! Oh! And if you thought I made a typo, guess again. Things got even weirder. I didn't think it was possible, but nature found a way to combine a snivy and an eevee. Needless to say, we didn't get an answer from the doctor. Just a dropped jaw and a shrug. Anyway, you guys don't care about that.

His name's Sylvan. Cool name huh? He's a real cutie, honest. Oh yeah! He looks just like any normal snivy...if that snivy had patches of brown fur and big pointy eevee ears. Got the cream-colored neck fluff thingy too. Never could figure out what to call that. Mane? Maybe. The brown fur went down his arms. It covered those shoulder blade leaf things too. Come to think of it, the fur didn't go any lower than that. And if you think he ended up with an eevee nose...he did. Cute huh?

The little guy didn't seem to care about these oddities. Instead, he chose to laugh as I gave in and blinked. "I win!" He exclaimed jovially, celebrating with that smug look I knew all too well.

"Sure did!" I chuckled, hoisting the little one onto my back. I sighed. "Let's find your dad huh? I don't think I can take another loss today." The little rascal just snickered in response.

It had been three years since Alex and I decided to take a break from exploring and just relax. All of the stress from the time gear situation, Shade and zion (or magic for the unknowing in our group) had started to get in the way of our relationship, so we decided to take a pause...then that pause got longer. Not that it meant I hated exploring or anything. Quite the opposite. Sometimes you need a break on the way to the top. (Also, I tried leaving Sylvan with Mom for a day to go exploring and Ally got mad) As for the rest of the group, when they heard we were going on hiatus, they took it as an extended vacation and kept in touch.

"Mama? Can you finish your story while we walk?" The little one pleaded. I smiled back at him.

"Sure thing sweetie." The little guy loved hearing about my old adventures. I just didn't have the heart to tell him no. Plus, he really seemed interested in storytelling. I felt it was important to support his interests early on. "Pay attention now."

* * *

 **The Beach:**

"And that's how time was fixed! And a lot of other things too..." I finished telling Sylvan my story just as we made it to the beach.

Sylvan giggled childishly. "That was an awesome story Mama!" He smiled.

I chuckled. "Was it now? Well just wait until you have your own adventures to tell. I bet those'll be way more awesome!" I smiled back. We made our way down the beach to the spot where I first met Alex. Sure enough, the snivy was there waiting for me. Lisa, now thirteen, sat next to him.

Alex smiled at me as Sylvan slid off my back, sitting between us. "Ready for our first family date?"

"You bet!"


	2. Chapter 2: Birthday Vee!

Chapter 2: Birthday Vee!

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **Hey guys! I'm back for another update to this wonderful series of mine. Today, it's going to be another small update. Only around 5000 words. I know it's not much considering how long it usually takes for me to get off my lazy butt and write, but this is the precise reason why it's short. I've decided that all future updates from now on will be around this length, possibly shorter. The reason is simple. I've grown accustomed to writing shorter works, especially flash fiction, and as it turns out, that translates well to how fanfiction is handled. So if you see a chapter in the future that's only 500-1000 words long, don't be alarmed. It may only be one scene long, but rest assured I'll be putting my all into that scene. You can bet on it! That being said, this means I have the possibility of delivering material to you guys faster without sacrificing quality, so it all works out! Anyway, I won't keep you from the chapter any longer. Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

" _It must be great to be a kid. Those times when nothing in the world can touch you. When ignorance is your friend, until that too inevitably betrays you."_

* * *

 **Grace Family Castle - Eve:**

To the person who invented castles, why'd you have to make them so confusing? Instead of a building, I felt like I was exploring a mystery dungeon in my feeble attempt to find the throne room, or as my grandparents called it, the "room with big chairs". I'd been sent to Castello Town early that morning by my parents who, despite my questions, never told me why I was needed. They'd mentioned something about family tradition before getting distracted by Sylvan. Which ok, I get it. The little guy was certainly adorable, but they could've at least told me why I was here before volunteering to watch him.

Lisa; however, practically begged to come. The near teenage eevee had apparently made friends with a local of the capital and continued to follow me until I agreed to take her with me. Not that I could say no to the cutie in the first place. She looked up to me just like I remember idolizing Team Raider as a young kit. Besides, it'd been three years since Alex and I met her, and we still hadn't formally adopted her. Letting her play with her friend was the least I could do.

With a sigh, I found the throne room. Anna and Synth, my grandparents, had unceremoniously fallen asleep on the floor. The flareon and leafeon must've been waiting longer than I thought, though I wasn't one to waste an opportunity. I crouched low to the ground, approaching the two like the prank prey they were, and pounced.

"For Trello's sake!" Synth shouted, along with some unintelligible grunts as I giggled. Anna; however, continued to sleep like a rock. "Oh, it's you, Eve." He smiled, sitting up and giving me a pat on the head. "Arceus knows you take after Anna." He shook his head, watching his mate sleep. "Give her a moment. She'll wake up once she notices the smell of sitrus berries." He chuckled, noting I always carry an extra supply.

I chuckled. "Not doubting that. By the way, who's Trello? You shouted that name when you woke up."

Synth frowned. "Oh, did I? Well…didn't your mother ever tell you that Mew gave himself a name? He's quite open with it. Says it helps him fit in."

"If she did, I don't remember. But I guess that explains Trello Town's name." I shrugged. Mew hadn't given us his name three years ago when we visited Trello Town, so I'd have to ask him about it later. "So! What am I here for today? Mom and Dad didn't tell me much. They were too busy making weird faces for Sylvan."

"Were they now? Seems they're having fun with the little guy. You should bring him over more often. I'd love to tell my great grandson a story or two from the past." He smiled. "In any case, we called you here to discuss reviving our family's traditional formal attire. Anna and I were hesitant to do so for a while with the family being separated and the threat Shade seemed to present, but for now it seems as though everything has calmed down. We can finally begin to recover as a family. That being said, I thought we could bring back an old tradition."

"Formal attire? Well, I don't really like clothes all that much, besides bows and hats. I'm not sure how big a help I can be but go ahead. What does it look like?" I sat down, retrieving a sitrus berry from the pocket dimension in my hat (as Cyrus called it) and laid it on Anna's belly.

Synth moved to the back of the room, nearing what looked like a set of velvet curtains and a rope. Pulling the rope revealed what was quite possibly the most intimidatingly fancy outfit I'd ever seen, complete with a cream-colored cape, a dark brown suit, and a cream-colored tie. Instead of a crown of some kind, the outfit included a hat that seemed to cover the entirety of an eevee's ears if worn, and two pairs of dark brown boots. The discomfort my ancestors must've felt wearing those made me flinch. "What do you think?"

"Well…" I paused, unable to believe my family had at one point worn that at all. "Maybe you could do something with the cape."

"Just the cape? What abo— "

"—Just the cape." I cut him off, startling him quite a bit. "Sorry, it's just that the rest of it seems a bit intimidating. Not to mention uncomfortable. I can't stand wearing anything over my ears, and I can't imagine how hard it was to walk in those things."

Synth seemed to get the point. "I suppose our old outfit is a bit outdated…"

"You bet it is!" Anna had woken up and was already curled up in her chair snacking on the sitrus berry I'd left for her. "I told you Synth. That outfit is old news. We need something more appropriate for pokémon today. Besides, there's no way I'm wearing that. Us fire types need a way to vent our heat."

He nodded. "Well then, Eve? You had a suggestion about the cape?"

"Yep!" I gestured to the crest painted on the floor near the center of the room. It was a crystal shaped emblem, at the center of which were the outlines of an eevee and buizel's heads, facing away from each other. Each had outlines of their respective tails painted below them, interwoven with each other. Below that, the title of our family, and the name of our country, Veralos. "You could shorten the cape a bit and add that emblem to it. Maybe you could even add the name of the person wearing it. I think that would be a lot less intimidating, plus kids love superheroes!"

"Hah. Superheroes huh?" Anna laid back on her chair, smiling in an almost nostalgic manner. "Well you're right. Kids do like those. Then again, other countries might find it strange…" She shrugged. "Eh, go for it."

Synth made a face that suggested he was reluctant, yet he tried to smile regardless. "Well if that's how you see it, I guess I can't argue. We'll have the cape ready for you soon."

I nearly choked on my sitrus berry. "Me? You want me to wear it? But I already said I wasn't into the whole royalty thing."

"It's not about that dear." Anna reassured. "It's about comforting the public. We've been on the downlow for so long. Sure the folks around Castello haven't noticed a thing, but towns further out have surely noticed our family's sudden drop in public appearances. We should let them know that the kingdom isn't falling apart, especially with the uncertain outcome circulating about the restoration of time. Things are stable now, but we have no idea what stabilized time in the first place. There's sure to be some unrest with the public, which is where you come in. Surely an explorer such as yourself can handle a little advertising."

I sighed. "Fine, I'll wear it. But it better look cool. No fancy, royal fashion stuff or whatever you guys do."

Anna seemed amused. "What has your mother been telling you about royalty? I'll have you know your great grandmother, Valerie hated fancy clothing. Still does. If she weren't out on some adventure, she'd probably scold you. Or rather, smother you. She doesn't know you exist."

My ears went on alert. "Great grandmother? She's still alive? Wait, how long do pokémon live again?" I frowned, attempting the math in my head. "Valerie huh? I think I've heard that name somewhere. She's an adventurer?"

The flareon nodded. "Not the sort you know though. She's a bit old-school. No certification from a guild. If she shows up anytime soon, I'll let her know where to find you."

"Old-school…" I nodded. "Alright, well I should probably head out before Lisa gets impatient. I promised her she could visit with a friend of hers who lives here. And while she's here, I might as well take her somewhere special." I smiled.

Anna mimicked my expression. "Somewhere special? Anything in mind?"

I adjusted my hat. "Let's just say I have an idea for a little tradition of my own."

* * *

 **Road to Treasure Town – Drew:**

"I'm telling you, Flare. That's the third language this week!"

She had her back turned, but I could tell she wasn't taking me seriously. "You seriously expect me to believe that you can just learn a language from reading it? I mean, I know you've been able to read every language we've discovered in books, but that seems like a stretch."

I sighed. "Yes, and books written about the legend of berries that taste like miltank milk isn't enough of a stretch? It's not that strange."

She faced me, unamused. "Drew, you flunked out of every class when we were in school. It's kind of hard to believe that you're fluent in four languages. Show me some proof, then we'll talk. Besides, we're supposed to be focusing on getting home, not arguing."

"Yeah, yeah." I shook my head. "What do you think Eve's up to?"

The vulpix shrugged. "That girl rarely sends letters. Who knows? I know she and Alex have two kids now thanks to Ella. She misspelled snivy in the letter though. Spelled it with two e's."

"Huh… Well either way, it'll be fun seeing them after so long. There's no way they didn't miss this quilava."

"If I didn't love you so much, I'd be groaning." She shook her head. A frown led to a chuckle, the red fox attempting to defend herself. "Kidding, kidding. You know I like that confidence of yours."

"Yeah, I know." I ruffled the fur atop her head. "You keep reminding me."

"Only because I have to."

"You mean you feel like you have to."

"It's a valid communication method!"

"A method? We need a method to communicate?"

"I don't know, maybe. If we're going to do research together, I'd say we do."

Flare usually knew what she was talking about, so I just went with what she said. Over the past three years, she'd managed to keep me interested in research, which was no small feat. I'll be the first one to admit that I don't like studying, or any sort of busywork that involves books or writing. Ironically, the stone that triggered my evolution had given me the ability to read any language I came across. To Flare, it was simply the ability to read languages I didn't know, but my memory was better than that. Or at least, it was now. I couldn't explain it, but I could remember every detail of every book we'd read together on our vacation.

Nevertheless, I had no idea how to prove it to her. Every time I tried to recite passages from books, she'd claim I'd somehow cheated. To be fair, she did know me to do just that for quite a while, and she'd always been one of those "seeing is believing" types. Hopefully I could convince Eve to help me out.

"Fair enough. By the way, how do you think the others will react to your, umm, condition?"

She frowned. "It's not a condition, Drew. It's a side effect of learning to control my powers. My parents said so." See, on our break, Flare had been working on controlling her weird psychic powers. I believe her parents called it the "shimu" or something. The name was completely different than Uxie's name for it, the "Eye of Uxie", but he was likely embellishing for the sake of his own pride. Either way, some time into her practice, we began to notice a side effect. If she used her abilities for too long, her fur would begin to turn white. It was cool, like an ice type's, and fluffier. If I were the artistic type, I'd be tempted to compare it to a snow cloud. As you might've guessed, she was currently stuck with that exact condition. Aside from the white fur, her paws were a light shade of blue, and the inside of her ears, along with her nose, was a darker shade of blue. Aside from her fur color, she'd lost the ability to produce flames. In their place, she was able to use ice type moves. It seemed like a fair exchange to me, but she didn't take to it the same way. I guess I could see why though, being a fire type myself. She wasn't used to being cold.

"Yeah, yeah. Speaking of that, gotten used to the cold yet?"

"Not on your life. My body may be fine with it, but it still feels wrong. And I can't use my fire." She whined.

"You'll be fine. Your parents said it wouldn't be permanent, so just chill."

"Oh, shush!"

I was about to retort, but without warning, a pink ribbon shot out from behind us and pulled us back. Pink-furred forelegs followed suit, embracing the both of us in a tight hug. "Flare, Drew! You're back early!" A familiar voice exclaimed. "And not a single letter. You two had me worried sick!" The ribbons spun us around, and soon we were met face to face with a frustrated sylveon.

"Oh! H-hi Ella! How've you been?" I choked out.

"How have I been?" Her eyes, full of motherly rage, sent a chill down my spine that words couldn't describe. No wonder Eve behaved as a kit. "Normally, I'd have you two reorganizing the library." She sighed, her expression softening and her grip loosening. "But I've missed you too much. Next time update me on how you're doing from time to time. Ok?" She let us go. "It seems you have a lot to explain." She frowned, finally noticing Flare's current predicament.

Flare nodded. "It's a long story, and the lack of letters is my fault. Don't blame Drew. Being surrounded by books has a way of pulling me away from reality."

Ella smiled. "Not to worry. I know that feeling well. I once locked myself in a library for a full week." She chuckled. "Oh! Speaking of reading. Drew, I took the liberty of fixing your poor eyesight while you were gone. It took a while, but I was finally able to get a pair custom made for you." With a ribbon, she reached into a small pouch at her side, retrieving a pair of goggles and presenting them to me. They weren't the usual geeky, science type goggles either. These were actually kind of cool.

"What are those? Some sort of sports goggles?"

She chuckled. "They're aviator goggles. Flying types wear them all the time for flight competitions, and they're especially popular in Trello Town for mail delivery in bad weather. I had these fitted with custom lenses to correct your sight. As a bonus, they won't fly off when you get into fights, and they're fire proof."

The flames on my back flared with excitement. "Wait, really?! Lemme try!" I smiled, nearly giggling like a small child. I'll be honest, I'm not very mature. If I'm excited, there's a chance my inner kit will show itself. Then again, I knew worse offenders.

Yet again, I was met with something I hadn't experienced since I was a child. Upon wearing the goggles, the world went from a mess of blurry objects and colors to actual distinct shapes. I found myself counting the individual leaves on trees, but that wasn't nearly the best of it. I could see Flare. Or rather, what she actually looked like. "Flare, you're…much prettier than you were when we met."

Flare just stared at me. "I'm going to assume that's a complement." She shot me a glare. "That was a complement, right?

I held up my paws in protest. "Of course, it is! Why wouldn't it be?!"

She smiled. "Just making sure."

I sighed. "Alright! No more squinting at books. Now, what else can I look at?"

* * *

 **Castello Town – Eve:**

Sure enough, Lisa was impatiently waiting for me outside the castle gates, or so I thought. Once I reached the gates, Lisa was talking with a buizel I didn't recognize. Normally this would've set off red flags for a mother, but I smiled, approaching the two. "Hey Lisa! Is this your friend?"

Lisa turned, already exhibiting that wide smile of hers. "Oh! Hey Eve! Yeah, this is Torrent. Torrent, this is—"

"—Eve!" Torrent cut in." Lisa told me her mother was an explorer, but I didn't know she meant a famous one! Ooh! Do you ever explore around ancient ruins?! I'm really into that kind of stuff!"

Lisa practically dragged him down from me. "Come on, Torrent. That's kind of embarrassing."

"Heh, sorry." He chuckled. "I just really like ancient relics. And she's got something pretty interesting right there." He pointed to my neck.

I'd recently begun to wear my relic fragment on a necklace, so he was likely referring to that. "Oh this? This is just something I picked up one day. I'm not really sure what it is or where it came from."

"Awesome!" He exclaimed.

Lisa stepped in front of him, letting him fantasize to himself. "Anyway, Torrent and I were talking about hanging out together back home. Is that ok?"

"Back home? Are you sure?" Being a new parent, I still wasn't used to handling this sort of thing. I didn't want to disappoint Lisa. At the same time, I trusted her. She likely had permission from Torrent's parents for something like this, but I didn't know them…

"'Course I'm sure! We checked with Torrent's parents and all."

"Mmm… Well alright then. But first, I've got somewhere I want to take you."

"Somewhere you want to take me. Is it cool?"

I nodded. "Something like that. Come on. Torrent, you can come as well since you'll be coming home with us."

* * *

 **Castello Market:**

Thanks to the momentary peace, the market in Castello Town had grown considerably in the past three years. There were more shops now more than ever, and it was a lot easier to get ahold of bows…not that I would know anything about that.

In any case, there was one shop that I had grown fond of recently. A friend of my mom's had set up shop selling hats and other similar types of accessories, all made by her own paws. She took specialized orders, and she had a talent for what she did. "This is the place!"

"A clothing store?" Lisa asked, tilting her head at the small building off to the side of the market that obviously doubled as a house. The only indication that it was a shop was the sign out front, neatly fashioned out of various types of fabric, but it was charming all the same. "Don't take this the wrong way, but that doesn't seem like you."

I chuckled. "I guess so, but this isn't some random girly clothing store. This place is special. "

"Ooh! Did you get your hat from here?!"

"Uhm, well no. I actually don't know where this hat was made or if the person who gave it to me is the original owner, but this place is still special. You'll love it, trust me!"

She didn't get it, that much was clear, but she smiled anyway. "Well if you like it, then I guess it must be special. Let's go!"

The door was accompanied by the quaint chime of a bell, attracting the attention of a cinccino behind a counter. "I'll be with you in a moment." A feminine voice chimed in, the normal type struggling with a couple of boxes.

"Let me help you with that." I smiled, the boxes lifting themselves of their own accord. Recently I'd learned how to use my powers to control gravity just enough to lift small objects. I couldn't do much else, but it was still useful.

"Oh, thank you!" She took a moment to catch her breath as the boxes put themselves away. "Oh, it's you Eve. How's your mom?"

"Scary, as usual. I don't think that's going to stop anytime soon."

"Same old Ella." She smiled. "I do hope she'll visit sometime. Haven't seen her in a while. If you have the time, could you say hello for me?"

"No problem. Heck, I'll even send her your way. She could really use a break from those dusty books anyway."

The cinccino sent me a disapproving look. "Now, now. Show your mother some respect. Wouldn't kill you to read a book or two you know." She smirked.

"Yeah, yeah. I swear, you and Ally both…" I chuckled. "Anyway, I don't believe you've met Lisa before. Or at least I think so. You haven't, right?"

Lisa shook her head. "How can such an awesome explorer be so forgetful?"

"I don't believe I have." The cinccino entered. "Though it's nice to see you both have the same sass." She giggled. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Lisa. My name is Cotton. It's not my real name, but everyone around town calls me Cotton Heart on account of my job here."

"Nice to meet you Cotton." She looked around, noting the variety of colorful accessories dressing the walls and furniture of the shop, which more than confirmed that it was indeed a house. Each article was notably unique, with remarkably intricate patterns, symbols or images stitched into them. Not one of them was the least bit dirty. "So, you make all of these yourself?"

"Certainly! While it would definitely be easier to let someone else do the work, I rather enjoy making my own art." She gazed around at her work; a sense of pride prevalent in her voice. "I don't think I could bear to hand over that responsibility to someone else. Anyway, are you guys looking for something in particular?"

I nodded. "Actually, it's Lisa's thirteenth birthday today, so I thought I'd let her pick something out."

Lisa's ears perked up as if she had completely forgotten about her own birthday. "Wait, it is?"

I ruffled her fur. "Of course, it is, sweetie. Did you seriously forget?"

"Well… no! It was just a test."

"Heh, sure it was." I nuzzled the small eevee. "Now go ahead. Pick something cool!" I nudged her forward, letting her have free range of the place. Sure enough, it wasn't long before I'd lost her attention amongst the accessories.

"She's adorable." Cotton cooed. "And you haven't heard a word about her parents?"

I shook my head. "She refuses to talk about them. Says she only remembers her mom, and even then, that's all I could get out of her."

She nodded. "Well, I know you and Alex were planning on adopting her. How's that going?"

"It's… going, I guess. We still haven't told her about it. We've had all of the papers filled out for months, but we don't know how she'll react, and we want to tell her before we make it official. It doesn't help that we're new to this either. Sylvan's quite the handful."

"Mmm. Well the two of you seem like you can handle it. I'm sure you'll be fine."

"I hope so."

"Ooh. This looks awesome!" Lisa exclaimed. She was nearly head deep in hats and bows and was holding up what looked to be a beanie in the shape of mew's head. I passed Cotton an apologetic look, helping her clean up the mess Lisa had made, before addressing the teenager.

"Find something interesting?"

She nodded excitedly. "Yep!" She showed off the beanie. "Cool huh?!"

True to form, it looked exactly like Mew's head. Two rounded off triangles for ears, sky blue eyes near the front, and the iconic pink that crazy cat was known for. Directly below the ears, two long, mew tail shaped ribbons hung from the hat. They were likely meant to cover the sides of the wearer's head, that is unless they were an eevee, huge ears and all. Seeing this took me back to my first experience with the legendary, and how helpful he'd been when we were completing Aunt Evelyn's test. Still, I had to admit it looked cute as the young eevee put it on.

"Sure, about this one?"

She nodded. "Yep!"

"Well if you're sure, that's good enough for me." I faced Cotton. "We'll take this Mew hat please."

The cinccino nodded. "Oh, certainly." She smiled. "That's one of my favorites too. Made it one day after I spotted Mew floating through town. He seemed so energetic! I think he pulled a few harmless pranks on some of the residents too." She giggled. "How could I not be inspired?"

"Pranks huh? I wonder if he has any tips… I should ask him next time." I grinned.

"Not now, Eve." Lisa sighed.

"Oh, err. Right." I chuckled. "In any case, how much for the hat, Cotton?" I asked, reaching for my hat to produce my coin pouch."

"Oh no! That won't be necessary. This one's on the house."

"Really? Are you sure? If it's not that much…"

"No, no. It's fine, really. Besides, it's Lisa's birthday anyway. Consider it my gift to her." She smiled.

I smiled. "That's fair I suppose. In that case, thanks Cotton!"

"Thanks Miss Cotton." Lisa thanked the cinccino.

"No worries, dear. You two take care. As for myself, I should really get back to work if I want to have these boxes organized before closing." She waved, before returning her attention to the counter. We waved back, before exiting the shop together.

* * *

 **Treasure Town:**

As it turned out, Torrent had waited outside the shop on his own. I hadn't noticed he wasn't with us until he rejoined us at the exit. He'd just been sitting by the side of the building, reading a pocket-sized guide on ancient relics. When I questioned him, he simply stated that he thought it would be rude to intrude on a mother-daughter moment, so he waited outside. Needless to say, I wasn't worried about Lisa spending time around him.

The walk back to treasure town was far from silent, Lisa showing off her hat to Torrent and all, but we were able to make it fast, and in no time, we were standing at the porch-step of my parents' house.

"Don't forget to tell Ella about Miss Cotton." Lisa chimed in once we reached the door. Had it not been for the slight tinge of sarcasm in her voice, I might've rolled my eyes.

"Just get in the house ya little floof ball." I chuckled, ruffling her fur and pushing her through the open door.

Inside, I found Mom curled up with a book, which wasn't all that unusual. Today was her book day after all. Accompanying her was a white vulpix, and…

"Drew!" I pounced the quilava, nuzzling his face as he attempted to push me away, ignoring his many pleas of protest until he eventually gave in and hugged me.

"Hey Eve. It's been a while." He smiled, rubbing my head affectionately. "But uhh, can you get off me now? I was in the middle of something with Flare."

"Oh yeah, sorry!" I chuckled, letting him stand up. "Where is Flare anyway? Is she behind the new girl?" I asked, looking around the white vulpix to check for her.

The white vulpix giggled. "Eve. It's me. I am Flare."

I frowned, looking at the vulpix incredulously. "Really? Are you sure, cause I'm pretty sure Flare had yellow ey—"

Before I had a chance to finish, a peculiar pattern appeared in the vulpix's eyes. The same pattern Flare had that always gave me chills. For some reason, every time I saw it, my heartrate sped up, and I got this deep, chilling sensation. "—Believe me now?" She smirked.

"Well I'll admit, I'm surprised." I had to blink a bit to make sure I wasn't hallucinating. "What happened to you?"

"It's a long story. I'll explain later." She assured, waving to Lisa. "For now, why don't we catch up some?"

I nodded. "Oh!" I gasped. "By the way, I have something I need you two to look at for me!" I began frantically searching my hat.

By now, I had my mom's attention. She'd put her book down and was now watching me pull an assortment of random items out of a fedora. She sighed. "I hope Cyrus at least told you not to do that in public."

I waved it off, receiving a death glare in response. Even so, I found what I was looking for, and showed it off. Luckily, the journal Cyrus had entrusted to me hadn't been lost or damaged. "Drew can read foreign languages and stuff, right? Can you guys translate this journal for me?"

Flare examined it, flipping through a few pages. "Interesting… We haven't come across this language before." She nodded. "Should be fun! We'll have it done in no time! Drew, time to test out those new goggles of yours."

He groaned. "Man, haven't even gotten to rest yet."

"No whining!" Flare snapped.

"Y-Yes ma'am!"


	3. Chapter 3: Herra Verna

Chapter 3: Herra Verna

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Hey guys! So it's been a while since the last update, but I'm going to attempt to hold myself to some sort of update schedule. At this point, I'm not sure what that'll be, but it's going to be much faster that once every four or five months. At the moment, I'm working on the version of this story that I'd like to turn into a novel. Progress on that is going smoothly, but it will naturally take time away from writing this fic. That being said, my schedule won't be once a week. I'll try for every other week, but if that isn't feasible, once per month should be more than consistent enough to keep this fic going. I fully plan on finishing and continuing this version of the story as well, as fanfiction is where I experiment with new ideas for my novel and short stories. In any case, I hope you enjoy the chapter I've prepared for you.

\- EMG

* * *

 _"I fear I have led someone down a dangerous path. Please let that not be in vain."_

* * *

 **Outskirts of Treasure Town – Austin:**

"Ooh! We're getting close!" I exclaimed, standing on the tips of my toes and squinting through the sunlight towards a town in the horizon. Our town that is.

"Careful, Sweetie. You're going to blind yourself." Ally frowned, the eevee forcing my gaze away from the sun. Rosa, who had fallen asleep earlier in the day, was curled up on Ally's back. "I swear, you're as hard to deal with sometimes as Eve is."

"Sorry Ally." I chuckled. "It's just been a while." It had been years since we'd last been to Treasure Town, let alone seen the others. It would be an understatement to say I was impatient. "Are you sure we shouldn't warn them we're coming?"

"And ruin the surprise? Not a chance. Eve has a record of sneaking up on me when I least expect it. This time it's my turn."

"Why do I get the feeling this has more to do with sibling rivalry than the reunion?"

The eevee rolled her eyes. "Oh Sweetie, please. Don't be silly. It's always about sibling rivalry with us."

"I see…" Perhaps it had something to do with their situation at the time, but for the length that I'd known them, Ally and Eve weren't the most competitive of twins. If you ask me, all this talk about sibling rivalry was coming out of left field.

"In any case, I know how you feel. I can hardly hold myself back from calling her through our badge now that we're in range. You still have it right?"

"Of course I do Ally. It's attached to my arm." I waved my right arm for emphasis, showing off the seemingly simple wrist-band Alex had somehow crammed our guild badge into. Aside from it's convenient look, the only feature he'd managed to add to it was a holographic display for our guild map. It didn't even have a name yet. He just called it the 'wrist band badge'. Not that I complained about it. It was much more convenient than having to pin an actual badge to my scarf or treasure bag strap. I can't count how many times the stupid pin poked me. It was like I was some sort of electric pin cushion. What was Wigglytuff thinking?

"Just checking. You lost your scarf last week, and you never take that thing off."

"Hey! It's not a thing! It's blue, and full of experience and stuff." I clutched the long, blue scarf around my neck. Ally had bought it for me on our anniversary, and I had refused to take it off ever since. Well, that is until Ally made me remove it during the night. Long story short, I nearly choked myself on it one night while rolling in my sleep. Not a fun experience. Ally wasn't happy.

"You just like the color blue." She chuckled.

"That's not fai—" My defense was interrupted by the explosion of an attack against Ally's protect barrier.

"For Trello's sake. What's with the warm welcome?" Ally fumed. I nearly laughed. Word had gotten around that Mew had a personal name, and now Ally was using it in place of Arceus. She said it felt more impactful. I didn't get it, but it was amusing.

"Back to the usual I suppose." I peered through the clearing dust at our attacker, a weavile. Aside from doing their best to look smug, they weren't doing much in the way of following up their attack. "Umm. Is there something we can help you with?"

The question only seemed to amuse the weavile. "Yes there is. You can help me by giving me everything in that bag of yours."

I sighed. Perhaps it was a side effect of being on hiatus so long, but we hadn't seen much action in a long time. "If that's your approach, you might want to consider a career choice outside of crime."

"Refuse at your own risk. I don't go easy on travelers."

"Suit yourself." Ally dropped her barrier as I reached for a bundle of rope we kept in our bag. The weavile must've taken this as an act of retaliation as he engaged, rushing in with a shadow claw prepared.

I grinned. My cheeks were already crackling with electricity rippling down my body and spreading across the ground. My fur stood on end, stiff with static as I swung around, pushing the length of my tail into the weavile's chest with just enough force to push him back. The electricity was only amplified by the pounding of my fist against my own palm. "Well, is that all?"

The weavile hesitated, almost deterred. In a fit of desperation he made a break for it, only for some of my electricity to arc towards him, striking him on spot. It had only been enough to paralyze him temporarily, but he was out cold, nonetheless. My electricity died down as I retrieved the rope from our bag. Although I'd contained it, it continued to course through my body on its own. I'd been told by other pikachu that I was inefficient at controlling my electricity. It usually took a while for the excess to settle, so I figured that's what they meant.

Once I'd secured the outlaw, I rejoined Ally. "Looks like we'll be stopping by the guild first."

She sighed. "Eve better not spot us there, or you'll be sleeping on the couch tonight."

"Wha-. Hey! W-What did I do? Ally!"

* * *

 **Grace Family House – Eve:**

"So let me get this straight. You used your powers too much, so now you're an ice type?" I frowned, pacing around Flare as I examined her body. Admittedly, I might have gotten a bit too up close and personal, as Flare was noticeably uncomfortable, blushing a heavy shade of blue. "Oops! Sorry!"

Flare chuckled. "Same Eve as usual. And that's the gist of it, though we don't know all of the details. We think the nature of my psychic powers has some influence over my genetics, but we're not entirely sure how. In any case, it's kind of refreshing. Cold, but refreshing. Experiencing what being a different type is like is kind of neat, in a weird way."

"Well I'm glad you're enjoying it. As for me, I think I'm going to need a while before I'm fully used to it."

"Speaking of getting used to it, these goggles are amazing!" Drew exclaimed. "Oh, uhh… sorry for interrupting." He chuckled. "But I think I've figured out what this book is at least. Maybe. From the looks of it, it's a research journal."

"Research journal? Have you deciphered any of the text yet?" Ally would never let me hear the end of it if she heard that I was interested in a book about research, so I kept my excitement to a minimum.

"No, not yet. It's a bit more complexed than I'm used to. But give us a few hours and Flare and I should have something for ya."

I nodded. "Well then. I don't know about anyone else, but I'ma check on my boys and then I'm heading for the guild." I left for my room, finding Alex reading a book to Sylvan. While I wasn't much for books, Sylvan took a real shine to them, even at the age of three.

"Hey Eve!" Alex took his eyes off the book as I came in. "You and Lisa have fun?" He patted Sylvan's fluffy head as the snivee giggled adorably, reaching for his arm.

"Yep! Bought her a hat. She's hanging out with her friend Torrent. Nice kid." I smiled. "Looks like you two had fun as well." I ruffled Sylvan's head fur. "You two feel like joining me for a trip to the guild?"

"Why not?" Alex shrugged. "Sylvan's been stuck in the house all day anyway. He could use some fresh air."

"He's not the only one. You look like you could use a break too." I retreated to the door. "Now come on. I heard the guild's made some changes. I wanna see what they've done!"

* * *

 **Treasure Town Square – Alex:**

Although the guild was making changes, the town itself hadn't changed much during our three-year break. Supposedly, Luke was giving Wigglytuff suggestions through letters, and he'd taken them to heart. That being said, the square was unusually crowded today. At the center of the plaza, a mass of pokemon had gathered. It wasn't immediately clear what they were focused on, but the chatter from the group was lively enough to be heard from across town. "What's going on? There some sort of celebration?"

"Beats me. Exciting things happen often in this town."

"Well it's on the way. Might as well see what's up."

As we approached the crowd, the chatter began to quiet down. Two pokemon, a snivy with pink eyes and a gallade walked onto a makeshift stage. Eve made an audible gasp.

"You ok, Eve?"

She didn't respond, only continuing to stare straight ahead at the two on stage. Zoning out wasn't anything unusual for the eevee, so I left her alone and focused ahead. The way the pokemon composed themselves, they were definitely much older than Eve or myself. The gallade specifically carried a level of professionalism with his stance that I had only seen before with Eve's grandfather. The snivy; however, was more reserved, standing at a distance off to the side of the stage. She avoided eye contact with the crowd, but they paid it no mind. The level of respect the crowd was showing them was telling. Those two were important.

The gallade made a gesture to get the crowd's attention, causing everyone in the immediate area to quiet down. "I'd like to thank each and every one of you for attending today. My partner and I were thinking on what would be the best course of action to take here, and we thought it prudent to at least explain why our team is here and what we're investigating. We've determined this is something the public should be made aware of, so we urge you to share what you hear today with anyone you know."

I frowned, tapping the shoulder of the pokemon next to me. "So umm, who are the two up on stage?"

The pokemon, a raichu holding a young pichu, turned. "Those two? That's Axion, the leader of the exploration team named Team Raider. The snivy is supposedly his mate, though her name hasn't been made public."

"Thank you." I nodded, returning my attention to the stage.

"We know it's been a while since we've been here in Treasure Town, and we plan to make this stay for quite a while. We've undoubtedly missed this place, but that's not quite why we're here. Several weeks ago, my teammates and I discovered a bizarre collection of pokemon statues in a remote area to the northeast of this town. As of yet, we're unsure what to make of this, but we urge you all not to investigate into this yourselves. Spread the word but stay safe. We're currently speaking with your guildmaster on terms about a collaborative effort. If anything comes of it, we'll let you know." The gallade gave a nod of respect to the audience before ending his speech.

Surprisingly, there was a lack of cheering for someone of his status. Perhaps it was out of respect for the news they'd heard, but the plaza was clear within a few minutes. I reached to my side to feel for Sylvan, only to find him playing with the pichu from before. The mother didn't seem to mind, so I let the two of them have their fun while I attempted to get Eve's attention. She'd remained in her frozen state even after the speech had ended, which I'll admit was somewhat worrying.

"Eve. Eve! You still in there?" I frowned, shaking her shoulder to little reaction other than an unconscious nod. I sighed. Not feeling like dragging her back home, I grabbed a sitrus berry from our bag and waved it under her nose.

"Ooh! Sitrus berry!" She snapped out of her trance immediately and snatched the yellow berry from my hands, taking a bite from it with little hesitation. "Thanks Alex!"

"No problem, but uhh. What happened with you back there? You zoned out."

The eevee panicked, looking around frantically. "Where's Axion? Don't tell me I missed him!"

"The gallade? He was just here." By then Axion had already left the plaza, supposedly having made for the guild. The snivy was still on stage; however, she must've heard Eve as she was slowly approaching us.

"Are you two looking for Axion?" The snivy asked as she approached. Eve's eyes lit up as she eyed the snivy.

"Yes, definitely! Is he still around?"

"Axion has already left for a meeting with guildmaster Wigglytuff, but he's not against having visitors if you want to meet him."

I figured Eve would be occupied with her for a while, so I struck up a conversation with the pichu's mother. Her name was Static, and her kid had bonded a bit with Sylvan during Axion's speech. The pichu, Amplitude, was insisting on continuing to play with Sylvan, so I agreed to follow Static to her house for a makeshift playdate. I left Eve a note on our bag and followed the raichu out of the plaza.

* * *

 **Treasure Town Plaza – Eve:**

"So Axion's staying in town for a week? Man, I wish my hat weren't black. I'd definitely have him autograph it otherwise." I smiled excitedly, already considering the possibilities of what I'd do if I met him.

"So, you're a fan of my husband I take it.?"

I nodded enthusiastically, perhaps a bit too much so. "Have been since I was a kit! I used to read all about his adventures in the newspaper. It's what got me into exploring."

The snivy took a seat next to me. "Axion would probably love to hear that." She smiled. "My name's Herra by the way. Herra Verna."

"Nice to meet you, Herra. I'm Evening Grace. That's uhh, well. Everyone calls me Eve though. I don't really like to be called by my full name."

"That's alright. Where I come from, it's common to introduce yourself with your full name, so I suppose I'm just used to it." Herra chuckled. "Evening Grace… You're the leader of Team Eviolite, right?"

"Oh, well yeah. Why?"

"My husband mentioned your team before. Back when that meteor was going to collide with our planet. Axion desperately wanted to be there to help out. To be honest, I think he's secretly jealous." She giggled. "But he's grateful too. It's nice to see explorers are just as strong as ever."

"So umm, why aren't you with Axion?"

"Oh I just figured I'd be in the way. I'm no good with those sort of serious matters, so I volunteered to stay behind and answer any questions."

"Well you definitely answered one of mine. I didn't know he was dating someone."

"Well I wasn't actually supposed to reveal that either. Axion and I agreed that we'd wait to make our relationship public." She chuckled. "Promise me you won't tell?"

I smiled. "No worries. It's none of my business anyway."

Herra stood. "In any case, I should probably meet him at the guild before he gets worried. It was great meeting you." She shook my paw. "That's a really nice hat by the way. It suits you." She passed me a smile before heading for the guild, waving back as she exited the plaza.

Once she was gone I checked around for Alex, only to find him nowhere to be found. Apparently I'd been too distracted by Herra that I hadn't noticed him leave with another parent. While I would've loved to have an afternoon with Alex, I was happy Sylvan made a friend. In any case, I was stoked. If Axion was at the guild, it was all the more reason to go there. Retrieving our bag, I made my way towards the crossroads.

* * *

 **Crossroads:**

On entering the crossroads, I was immediately met with something familiar. A pikachu with blue eyes and a matching blue scarf was conversing with an eevee near the stairs. The eevee had her back turned, but there was no way I wouldn't recognize my sister. I smiled, slowing my pace as I approached the stairs myself. Normally I would've snuck up behind Ally and surprised her with some kind of prank, but we'd been apart for far too long. It was Rosa who noticed me first, but the little eevee didn't rat me out. Instead, she hopped off of her mother's back, making her a bigger target. I'd have to make it up to her later.

Once I was within hugging distance of Ally, I threw my forelegs around the eevee and pulled her into a tight hug. "Ally, you're back!"

"Wha-hey! Eve? Is that you?" The eevee sighed. "No fair!"

I giggled. "Should've been more careful if you wanted to get to me first. What? Did you think I wouldn't run into you if you went for the guild?"

The eevee grumbled as I let her go. "I'm definitely getting you next time."

I chuckled. "Too bad. I'm not letting you leave for that long again."

Ally rolled her eyes. "Anyway. As you can see, we had a run in with a thief on our way here. Austin and I were contemplating how we were going to get him up the stairs, since this one's refusing to cooperate and neither of us can carry a full grown weavile." She glared at the weavile. "I suggested we drag him." The weavile flinched.

"You really need some rest." I rubbed Ally's shoulder. "I'll carry him. You get some rest once we're inside."

Ally sighed. "Thanks Eve."

Austin lent me the rope as I lifted the weavile onto my back. I wasn't sure where the strength was coming from, whether it be my own powers or something else. Cyrus explained that I had some strange powers and everything, and I'd seen them myself, but he'd never explained what they actually did. Even so, with that problem out of the way, we made our way up the stairs and entered the guild.


	4. Chapter 4: Starstruck

_Chapter 4: Starstruck_

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Hey guys! Just a quick update for everyone. The writing might seem a bit different this time around, and I certainly hope it does. I'm attempting to put at least some of what I've been learning in college to use here, so we'll see how that works out. If only I could use proper formatting here. In any case, enjoy!

* * *

 **Wigglytuff's Guild - Eve:**

As expected, the guild was busier than usual. A lot busier. Pokémon were lined up by the dozen at the sentry gate, which for once was actually shut. Well, save for when I arrived in Treasure Town. The tent's unfitting steel bars were unsettling to say the least, yet it didn't seem to faze the crowd of star-stricken residents in the slightest.

"This is why the guild needs more entrances."

"More?" Austin frowned. "Looks like they're barely keeping them at bay."

"Not the point. Squeezing through that one tent entrance is a pain. That and the ladders."

"What about them?"

"Try being a quadruped and I'll tell you." I was about to search for a way through the crowd before an ear-rupturing wail exited the tent, reducing the former raging crowd to a mess of covered ears and disorientation. No doubt Loudred had lost his temper and cranked it up a notch.

"Heaven's sake. Lower that incessant volume of yours. We have an invaluable guest. I won't have you bringing the foundation down while he's here!" A lecturing voice with just a hint of flustered squawking echoed out from the sentry grate moments later.

"That's what I like to hear." I chuckled. The crowd had, well... 'Calmed' wasn't quite the word, but the residents dispersed in a daze shortly after Chatot's scolding, leaving the entrance wide open. So, as I'd imagined several times while enduring the bird myself, I shouted directly into the grate and down the hole.

"That's great and all, but who's handling sentry? Open the gate will ya?"

The chatot let out an audible huff. "Loudred, if you'll please attend to the gate, I have important matters to discuss with the guildmaster." The sound of wings flapping gave way to metal grinding against soil as the tent's metal bars receded.

Amusingly, yet somewhat concerning, the thief had been knocked unconscious by Loudred's voice. According to Ally, he was only a petty thief. Loudred would surely hear from me if we were punished for going overboard.

In any case, the inside of the guild was surprisingly empty, or rather the first floor was. Barren actually. Seems the idea of a celebrity visit meant break time to the staff. Not that I blamed them. You can't pass up the opportunity to meet an explorer like Axion, but Chatot had clearly loosened up on the rules.

The second floor was expectedly packed. The entire guild stood huddled around Wigglytuff's room, assembly style. Except unlike the usual assembly, Chatot was nowhere to be seen, and things were a bit... less than organized. Crogunk was messing with his caldron, which at this point I was convinced was empty. Mari's team stood huddled in front of the door eavesdropping, save for Thomas who'd fallen asleep in a corner, somehow undisturbed by Loudred. The only members who were in their proper positions were Bidoof and Chimecho.

"Well I expected a bit of insanity, but I didn't think the entire guild would fall apart."

"You obviously don't know real fame." Austin chuckled as he waved Chimecho over. With a quick exchange, she carted the criminal off with a bit of help from Bidoof.

"What would you know about real fame?"

"Seen a few famous people as a human. Memories are back, remember?"

"Pfft. Doesn't count."

Chimecho and Bidoof returned just as Wigglytuff's door swung open, nearly smacking Mari in the face and sending the three eavesdroppers scattering. Chatot exited first, followed by Wigglytuff and... Luke?

"Wha-?! Have you all forgotten what assembly is? To your positions. On with it! We haven't got a moment to spare on such dilly dally!" Just like that, the guild was as it was every morning. At least Chatot hadn't lost his efficiency. For the sake of appearance, Ally, Austin and I stood in our former spots.

"Now that we have everyone's attention." Chatot looked to the side, noting the zorua who was still fast asleep in the corner. "Mostly everyone that is." He sighed. "Our guildmaster has some important information to share regarding the current state of the guild. And just to clear the air, yes Axion of Team Raider is currently residing in our establishment. Please do not pester him for autographs. We will inform you on what to do on account of the statues once we've had time to discuss the matter at hand." Despite the obvious excitement in the air, no one interrupted as Wigglytuff took a step forward.

"Hiya friends!" The wigglytuff greeted in his usual manner before his expression shifted to something a bit more serious. "If this were any ordinary day, I'd carry on with our special chant." The room went silent. "I know you all want me to be silly, but this is super important, and I'm sure if I told you in that way, you'd all be upset." He pulled Luke to his side. "I've been thinking for a while, and I think it's time for a break. Not a small one. A super long one. Like..." He trailed off. His paw noticeably shook with the silence. "I'm retiring."

With that bit of news, the rest of the guild was sent into a frenzy of gasps and whispers, only to be further hushed by Chatot. "I'm not leaving." The wigglytuff clarified. "But I've really missed exploring places myself, so for now I'll be teaching Luke here how to run this place... I think." He looked to Chatot, who confirmed it for him. "Well anyway, I hope it's not too much to ask." His familiar smile returned. "Please treat Luke like you would me!"

Of course no one had it in them to object to it, so assembly continued without incident. "Onto further matters. As you all are no doubt aware, Team Raider is currently conducting an investigation on the appearance of pokémon statues to the northeast of Treasure Town. Incidentally, Axion has come to our guild for assistance on the matter. I know you all have questions; however, please do be patient as we are currently discussing our course of action." Chatot paused, as if evaluating the guild's thoughts. "If there are no further questions, you are all dismissed."

Despite several hushed complaints, everyone returned to their regular tasks. I wasn't backing down so easily; however. Pushing through the remaining crowd, I attempted to make my way towards Wigglytuff's room, only to be stopped by Chatot. "And where do you think you're going, miss Evening?"

"To see Axion. The others might have the patience, but I've been waiting for this."

"So I've heard. I am well aware of your admiration for our guest. Your mother made that quite clear upon her visit to the guild some time ago. And so I feel it necessary to keep you away from Axion for the duration of our meeting. To prevent any interruptions, if you don't mind."

"My mom? When did she-? You know what, never mind. Can't you loosen up this one time?"

"It is not my job to entertain you, miss Evening. Nor should it be to risk crucial planning for an autograph signing. You can meet Axion once our meeting is over. As a world leader, it should be imperative that you learn a sense of responsibility." The bird left for the guildmaster's chamber before I had a chance to respond.

"Hey! What's that got to do with anything!"

"Let it go, Eve." Ally placed a paw on my shoulder. "You'll have more than one chance I'm sure. Besides, I want to see the others. That and the little one's exhausted." She motioned to Rosa, who despite all of the racket had managed to remain asleep.

"Right." I sighed. "Oh! And speaking of sleeping. Austin, why don't you handle your brother over there. Better yet, let's take him with us. It'll be funny." I snickered.

Austin looked towards the zorua and for the first time agreed with my mischief. Thomas' teammates didn't mind at all as we made off with him. Better yet, there was no resistance. He still hadn't woken up.

* * *

 **Grace Family Household:**

Alex was waiting for us at the house. Peculiarly, Sylvan wasn't with him. Apparently, he'd grown attached to his playmate and asked to stay the night. Austin and Ally stuck back in the market for a bit to re-familiarize themselves with the town's layout.

"He made a friend so early huh? At least that was easy enough." I smiled, giving the snivy a peck on the cheek. "Who are these people anyway?"

"Oh. Well the mother's a raichu. Static's her name. She didn't mention anything about a father, but the kid's name is Amplitude. Pretty smart too. Static mentioned he had a habit of tinkering with electronics."

"Really? How old is he?"

"Same age as Sylvan. As I said, he's smart."

"No kidding." We entered the house, and as expected Drew and Flare were still flipping through the journal I'd given them. "Hey guys! Anything yet?"

Flare looked up, her fur still the same icy white as it was when she arrived. "You could say that. We managed to translate the first page, though it was just a paragraph and we don't exactly know what it entails."

"Go ahead. Anything helps." I hopped onto a nearby couch, not expecting much, though curious all the same.

"It's like some sort of research journal. From what we've managed to translate, it reads as follows:"

"To anyone who may come across this journal, I write this with the hopes that my words reach further than just a select few. Enclosed in these pages are my observations of a strange property of our universe. Something that I've chosen to call zion. You will find more detailed descriptions further in, though please note that I am writing this in a language foreign to most. It is called Oraci, used primarily by the legends in an era that, by the time this journal is found, may have long passed. Whatever method of translation you may be using to read this message, I should warn you. It won't work for everything contained in this journal. I plan to switch to the glyphic form of the language, at which point you will be lost. I recommend you seek the assistance of a legend by the name of Trello for further translation. – Avalon"

I stood, not expecting that much out of a paragraph. "That's an awful lot for an introduction. They mentioned Trello too." I frowned. "They mentioned something about an era. How old is the journal exactly?"

"Can't say, though if we're going off the glyphs in the journal alone, I'd say it's pretty ancient. There's no mention of a language like this in Ella's library."

I shrugged. "Then I guess you guys can keep translating the journal until you get to the glyphs part or whatever. We'll see about contacting Trello then."

Just then, Austin and Ally returned with little more than a wave as they entered the house. They probably would've had a chance for a flashier entrance had it not been for my mom tackling them as soon as they set foot inside. "The nerve of you two, I swear. Three years away from home and that's how you greet your mother?"

Austin raised a paw in protest. "But you're not my-"

"I wouldn't finish that if I were you." I intervened, noting my mom's rather…emotional response. "Anyway, Mom. What's the deal with the package over there? It's just been sitting there the whole day."

The sylveon let the two go, having somewhat recovered. "Oh! Sorry, I seem to have gotten a bit carried away it seems." She approached the package in question, carrying it over to a table with her ribbons. "Seems your grandparents completed your regalia." She reached into the small carboard box and pulled out a small cape which was, for lack of a better word, much better than its previous version. Our family's emblem was stitched to it, dead center. It was a simplified version of the one on the throne room floor, with the silhouette of an eevee and buizel head posed back to back above a blue, diamond shaped background. The rest of the fabric was a light cream color, trimmed with dark brown. Below the emblem was my name stitched in the same brown as the sides. "I'll admit, it's better than the previous…mess, but Eve. Sweetie. Why is it a cape?"

"Don't worry about it." I waved her off. "More importantly, how did they complete it so fast?"

"Your grandfather is an ace when it comes to knitting. That and he has the help of a particularly talented cinccino in town."

"Cotton?"

The sylveon frowned. "Yes. Do you know her, Dear?"

"She made Lisa's hat."

"I thought I recognized the craftmanship."

"Where is Lisa anyway?" I asked while fumbling with the cape. I could hold things just fine but tying things like ropes was a hassle with just my paws. What I wouldn't give to be a psychic.

"She's in town with her friend. You just missed her."

"Oh right!" Flare interrupted, reaching into her bag and fishing out an envelope of some kind. "Eve, I know you didn't want this to be opened, but… I think you should read it. We came across it while searching the shelves in the library, and it seems Connor had a bit more to say than declaring us enemies."

I winced. Those words still stung, as much as I wanted to avoid them. "Fine, fine." I sighed, accepting the letter." It wasn't anything special presentation wise. Just a simple, folded note. Connor's writing was surprisingly neat, as opposed to my chicken scratch. It read:

"Eve, if you decide to read this, I want you to know that it's not your fault. I'm leaving by choice; despite whatever nonsense I write on the envelope. Though come to think of it, you probably won't read it at all. Knowing you, I've probably pissed you off. I don't blame you if you tossed it aside… You're probably wondering why I left, so I'll cut right to the chase. Head northeast of Treasure Town. You'll find something there. – Connor."

The note was half crumpled by the time I finished reading. "That idiot. Making me think he hates me." I sat down, tossing the note aside. "We're going to find him, and when we do he's getting pranked big time."

"He said to go northeast, right? That's the same direction as the statues Axion was talking about." Alex commented. "That can't be a coincidence."

"You're right." I hopped off the couch and grabbed my treasure bag. "Austin, Ally. Hope you guys aren't too tired, cause we're heading out. You too, Thomas!" The zorua, who'd just now woken up and was questioning his surroundings, jumped.

"What? No way. Chatot said to sit tight." He protested. "Why am I even here?"

"Don't complain. We're independent explorers now. We can do what we want. Besides, if Axion's heading there, then so am I."

"I'm starting to question why I let you become the leader." Austin sighed.

"Too bad." I exclaimed, finally getting the hang of my cape. "Now move!"


End file.
